O'Hare Screens Passengers For Deadly Coronavirus Found In U.S.

CHICAGO, IL — A new virus known as 2019-nCoV originating from Wuhan, Hubei Province, in central China has appeared in the U.S. O'Hare Airport will now begin screening passengers for signs of the virus as a result. A Centers for Disease Control (CDC) press release on the issue said the virus is a little-known form of coronavirus, a family of viruses known to cause respiratory illnesses.

Coronaviruses are responsible for illnesses such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).

"On January 17, 2020, CDC began implementing public health entry screening at San Francisco (SFO), New York (JFK), and Los Angeles (LAX) airports. This week CDC will add entry health screening at two more airports – Atlanta (ATL) and Chicago (ORD)," the CDC release stated.

The virus first came to CDC attention earlier this month when a Washington state resident sought medical aid after returning from a trip to Wuhan on Jan. 15. His symptoms were consistent with coronavirus infection, and CDC officials were aware that the same 2019-nCoV virus was responsible for an outbreak of pneumonia spreading in Wuhan since December.

While coronaviruses are often spread to humans from animals — especially camels, cats and bats — CDC officials were concerned that human-to-human 2019-nCoV infections may be occurring.

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today confirmed the first case of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in the United States in the state of Washington. The patient recently returned from Wuhan, China, where an outbreak of pneumonia caused by this novel coronavirus has been ongoing since December 2019," the release stated. "While originally thought to be spreading from animal-to-person, there are growing indications that limited person-to-person spread is happening. It's unclear how easily this virus is spreading between people."

The CDC stated that the arrival of the virus in America was expected, and that the organization has been preparing for it for weeks. Relatively little is known about the virus, which has reportedly been responsible for six deaths in China but also milder, non-lethal symptoms. Despite this, the CDC press release stated that there is little risk of infection to the American public at large.

"The confirmation that some limited person-to-person spread with this virus is occurring in Asia raises the level of concern about this virus, but CDC continues to believe the risk of 2019-nCoV to the American public at large remains low at this time," the release stated.

O'Hare officials declined to comment on this development, but all travelers heading to or returning from Hubei or neighboring provinces should be aware that screenings will be taking place.

To learn more about the outbreak of 2019-nCoV in Wuhan, visit the CDC information page on the situation.